Review: ‘Louie’ – ‘Barney/Never’

I’m traveling home from press tour right now, so no time to do a real “Louie” review, but I wanted to offer a place for people to discuss one of the season’s more overtly comic episodes to date. I really enjoyed the climax of the first story, the work between Louis C.K. and the guest star in that one, and then the complete chaos caused by Never in the second story.

So fire away, and we’ll presumably back to a more typical episode review for next week’s show.

Yeah and big fat Artie Lange bailing out of the leaking chemical truck.

By: ANTHONY REYES

08.04.2012 @ 11:26 PM

@Jim

at least we know Artie isn’t back on heroin judging by his size…

By: lztouchthedream

08.03.2012 @ 3:10 AM

This was definitely my favorite of the season so far. The strippers crying to ‘Sister Christian’, carbon all being from China, the perfect rhythm and nonsense of the radio interview. And the tag with JB Smoove may have pushed it in to my favorite of the series spot. Just hilarious, wall to wall.

By: QueensBully

08.03.2012 @ 3:20 AM

The JB Smoove bit was absolutely hilarious! “I hate you”.

By: PotatoSolution

08.03.2012 @ 3:59 PM

Easily the best of the season. Now I remember, this show can actually be really funny.

By: kneejerk

08.03.2012 @ 4:59 PM

Yes.

By: Jim

08.03.2012 @ 9:04 PM

JB Smoove is never not funny.

By: jack_is_laughing

08.06.2012 @ 8:26 PM

It was extremely funny and entertaining, but Best of the season? Only if you’re just showing up for the laughs. Last week’s was a classic, likely to be the smartest and most inventive half hour of TV this year.

By: LJA

08.11.2012 @ 2:42 AM

Plus one. “Sister Christian” as the backdrop for strippers weeping over the dead guy was pure genius. So was Never turning “diarrhea” into a verb, “I diarrheaed in the bathtub.” Priceless.

By: SlackerInc

12.07.2013 @ 1:12 PM

This was actually my least favorite episode of the series, not just the season. I much prefer the Louie episodes that are naturalistic and dramatic to this sort of madcap absurdism.

I can easily imagine the show being like this generally, and finding an audience doing so. However, that show would not be one I would watch.

By: Tank

08.03.2012 @ 3:14 AM

Did I miss it or was there no open?

By: Patrick

08.03.2012 @ 3:21 AM

It opened with Louie and robin Williams at the cemetery in silence. I think this episode was easily the best of the season. The never storyline was way out there, and hilarious. Artie lange jumping out of the truck screaming was a nice random touch too

By: Tank

08.03.2012 @ 3:25 AM

No, I mean there was no theme song. Right?

By: Patrick

08.03.2012 @ 3:39 AM

I think you are right, now that you mention it

By: jbagels

08.03.2012 @ 2:36 PM

There wasn’t the usual opening. Just Louie walking through the cemetery while the title and credits flashed on the screen. It was kinda cool. Also, one of the rare instances in which there was no stand up for the entire episode.

By: leegero

08.03.2012 @ 5:12 PM

May have been comical to keep the original open in this ep, with the ending lyrics, “Louie, Louie you’re gonna die” and then cut to the cemetery. Still, amazing, amazing episode. Along with the Miami one, two of the best of the series.

By: Bgklein

08.03.2012 @ 6:28 PM

I enjoyed the Artie cameo as well. Nice to see an episode where Louie is able to work in a few fellow comics who probably came to him saying they’d love to be a part

By: gsfake

08.03.2012 @ 9:43 PM

@BGKLEIN There is literally a comedian in almost every single episode of Louie. This isn’t a new thing or anything.

By: SlackerInc

12.07.2013 @ 1:14 PM

So am I the only one who disliked this episode? It seems he has not been making the show most of his fans want to see, which is lucky for me but awfully brave on his part.

By: Jbagels

08.03.2012 @ 3:20 AM

I’m a little ashamed to admit I’ve been to Sweet Cherry and the girls didn’t look half as good as that.

By: Jim

08.03.2012 @ 9:06 PM

I thought it was Sweet Charity?? Like the movie.

By: David

08.03.2012 @ 3:26 AM

I just am not into this season. Maybe it’s me. I loved the previous seasons, but I am not enjoying it this time around. ‘Barney’ was much better than ‘Never,’ in my mind. ‘Never’ should have shown Louie confronting the mother of that abomination. I look forward to the show each week, and each time I watch it now, I feel lesser about the show than before.

By: eddie willers

08.03.2012 @ 4:19 AM

should have shown Louie confronting the mother of that abomination

Couldn’t…she was having her vagina removed.

By: lztouchthedream

08.03.2012 @ 12:36 PM

Don’t worry, though, it’s elective.

By: StringerBell

08.03.2012 @ 1:43 PM

She needs to get it done before Easter.

By: BrettPoker

08.03.2012 @ 5:20 PM

I agree with David. This is easily my least favorite season. I understand what he’s trying to do. But for the most part, it has failed to consistently entertain, IMHO.

By: NP

08.04.2012 @ 1:11 PM

Don’t you feel that he did that already (confront the parent) in (S1? S2?) “Bully”? Personally, I liked that he dealt with the kid, rather than the crazy, paranoid mother.

Brett: I don’t think this show is consistently _anything_…*shrug*

By: Trilby

08.05.2012 @ 5:13 PM

I too have not been wild about the season. This ep was best so far, but the previous ones just seem to have Louis looking dumbfounded at someone else’s antics, and not doing much himself. The wacky date? Been done to death. I hate the wacky date. The Melissa Leo ep was different at least, but again, I would like to see Louis participate more, not be a bystander/witness/victim of weirdness.

By: NP

08.06.2012 @ 3:21 PM

Trilby: in case it helps you enjoy the show more I want to point out that Louie does all the writing, directing, and a host of other roles. So even when you don’t see him doing much on screen, he is responsible for just about everything else going on. Another actor is delivering the lines, but he wrote the lines and set up the shot. The show is also from his POV, so he’s kinda forced into being the straight man.

If Louie had created a show where he could play different characters, maybe he would be up to more antics, but he’s always ‘himself’ even if the character is now quite different from the person.

By: Gredit

08.03.2012 @ 3:57 AM

Kind of a shame they misspelled the cameo actor’s name in the closing credits.

By: Zach L

08.03.2012 @ 4:54 AM

Louis mentioned there would be three Oscar winners on the show this season. So Melissa Leo, Robin Williams, and ….

By: Jdz

08.03.2012 @ 5:21 AM

Susan Morse?

By: d

08.03.2012 @ 5:22 AM

Parker Posey

By: Jdz

08.03.2012 @ 5:41 AM

Nope, Posey hasn’t even been nominated.

By: Zach L

08.03.2012 @ 5:48 AM

Unless the third is F Murray Abraham?

By: Kilowatt28

08.03.2012 @ 5:58 AM

Woody Allen.

By: gsfake

08.03.2012 @ 9:41 PM

Well i know that Jerry Seinfeld will be in an upcoming episode, but I’m not 100% sure he’s oscar winner I’d assume he is.

By: HeavyRaines17

08.04.2012 @ 12:02 AM

Peter O’Toole.

By: fresser28

08.04.2012 @ 2:39 AM

F. Murray Abraham won the Best Actor Oscar for “Amadeus,” so I guess the third person is him.

By: NP

08.04.2012 @ 1:16 PM

F. Murray Abraham was season 2, so no…

By: Mikky J

08.03.2012 @ 7:26 AM

“I diarrhea’d in the tub.”

Horrible and hilarious.

By: lztouchthedream

08.03.2012 @ 12:39 PM

Louie being at an utter loss for how to proceed was the funniest part of that scene to me. A lesser show would have just ended on the shit joke, but they took it to it’s logical conclusion.

By: Patrick

08.03.2012 @ 8:14 PM

I agree, LZ. Also, it was great watching Louie calmly explain to Never why Lilly doesn’t want to play with him. “You eat raw meat and you shit the tub”

By: lztouchthedream

08.04.2012 @ 1:03 AM

I imagine every parent has wanted to give that speech to at least one of their kid’s friends!

By: Mary

08.03.2012 @ 11:56 AM

Yuck. I couldn’t wait for this to end. Hilarious?? Is it a male thing? Do any women enjoy this show? If I hadn’t paid for it already, I’d stop watching. And yet… it does have a certain train wreck quality.

By: Jess

08.04.2012 @ 12:37 AM

Yep women definitely do. I love it.

By: fresser28

08.04.2012 @ 3:01 AM

Agree totally. I love Louie and his bizarre, honest, utterly brave life in the city. I find it far funnier, much more intelligent, subtle and far more affecting than say, the execrable “Girls” or any episode of “Sex and the City,” which are aimed specifically at women (not me, though). “Louie” feels genuine despite its weirdness; those other shows seem supremely false in comparison.

By: svetlana

08.04.2012 @ 4:21 AM

Mary, I’m a woman and I don’t particularly like the show either. I had to fast forward the tub part because it was way too gross for me. I did think the strip club part was funny though. That’s probably the first thing I’ve seen robin Williams in where I didn’t absolutely hate him. But back to your point…I do think this show is more tailored towards men. I watch almost out of some bizarre obligation.

By: Mary

08.04.2012 @ 4:27 AM

Svetlana: “bizarre obligation.” Perfect!

By: Andrew Y

08.04.2012 @ 12:22 PM

I’m a male and I couldn’t wait for the Never segment to end either. It was totally predictable and not funny at all. Barney on the other hand was phenomenal.

By: Patrick

08.04.2012 @ 3:22 PM

Svetlana, you realize this is a tv show and he didn’t really “diarrhea the tub”. While the concept is gross, I don’t understand how people can get legitimately grossed out by a clearly fake scene.

By: Patrick

08.04.2012 @ 3:27 PM

Andrew, I’m curious if you predicted any of the following: 1. Never’s mother declaring she was going to have her vagina removed. 2. Never pushing the baby carriage into traffic. 3. Artie Lange jumping out of a leaking chemical truck. 4. Never eating raw meat. 5. Never throwing Louie’s carpet out the window. 6. Never “diarrheaing” the tub. I understand that not everyone liked the Never segment, but I don’t think anyone can call it predictable

By: svetlana

08.04.2012 @ 5:07 PM

Patrick, of course I realize this is a tv show but I can’t help it if I find something disgusting. I guess I just have delicate sensibilities.

By: rcade

08.04.2012 @ 5:19 PM

So somebody expelling diarrhea in a tub is only “legitimately” gross if it’s actual diarrhea and not fictional diarrhea? The defensiveness of the fan comments on this blog kill me sometimes*.

* – Not literally.

By: Andrew Y

08.04.2012 @ 8:08 PM

You have to be kidding Patrick. Did I predict the specific events? No. Did I know the kid was going to do something horrible every time Louie turned his head. Absolutely. I knew he was going to do something on the street. Any one could see that coming. I knew that when Louie got distracted in the apartment the kid was going to break or destroy something, which he did. And absolutely anyone with a brain knew he was going to do something in the tub. Did I know what exactly? Again, no, but it was so predictable that Louie was going to get distracted by the radio interview and that he or his daughter were going to be revolted by something. If you think that part of the show wasn’t predictable then I don’t know what to tell you.

By: Eric

08.10.2012 @ 1:55 PM

My fiancee loves the show. But I do think it’s unapologetic in being very specific to Louie’s perspective and sense of humor, both of which are (naturally) male.

By: SlackerInc

12.07.2013 @ 1:22 PM

My wife became interested in Louis CK after hearing him interviewed on fresh air. But she tried the show and did not like it. I love the show, consider it one of the best on TV…except for this awful, juvenile episode. It’s like it suddenly morphed into some sort of third rate version of a late night Comedy Central show for one episode. And I don’t watch those shows. I did actually chuckle at the moment Never was revealed to have diarrhea’d the tub, I will admit. But that was the only two seconds of the episode I liked at all.

Fresser, Girls is one of the best shows on TV. Sex and (in?) the City is atrocious. So you are half right. ;-)

By: Michael

08.03.2012 @ 11:56 AM

Definitely thought this was the weakest of the season…coincidence Alan didnt feel compelled to write a review?

By: Mark

08.03.2012 @ 3:29 PM

Did you not feel compelled to read the first sentence of his post?

By: SlackerInc

12.07.2013 @ 1:23 PM

So glad I was not the only one who disliked it.

By: Not Mork

08.03.2012 @ 1:01 PM

Did Williams’ character identify himself? Was he playing Robin Williams?

By: Ryan

08.03.2012 @ 1:28 PM

I’m pretty sure he introduced himself as Rob.

By: Mike McG

08.03.2012 @ 1:47 PM

He was playing himself. Louis mentioned in an interview that he’s too famous to just play some guy.

By: youngjt80

08.03.2012 @ 7:05 PM

He introduced himself as Robin.

By: Scott Rosenberg

08.03.2012 @ 7:48 PM

He introduced himself as Robin

By: Lee

08.03.2012 @ 8:45 PM

Yes, RW was playing himself. It was obvious that they both knew the dead comedy club owner through their work and had bad memories of him (especially Robin, who was related to him by marriage and had been ripped off to the tune of some $600K by the guy).

I still can’t stop laughing at last night’s “Louie”. To me the key was keeping each show to 15 minutes. There could have been some real overkill if they extended that strip club scene. Instead it was perfect.

And never….Oh sweet jesus was that awesome. You can almost picture the stand up bit that inspired the story ( louie does have that great “God I really hate this kid in my daughter’s class” bit from his Beacon special.) Raw meat in a bowl. Even when he asks Never if needs a spoon or a fork……Oh man. What a winner.

By: @boobaJONES

08.03.2012 @ 3:19 PM

The Strip Club scene was an all time best for Louie. Just spectacular!

By: miraclemet

08.03.2012 @ 3:43 PM

Two great vignettes. “Barney” had all the great moments of CK: The awkwardness until he & “Rob” fessed up to hating the dearly departed, laughing ludicrously at a situation (a strip club in tears over a dead guy), and even a little moral nugget (even the most hated guy is loved somewhere).

“Never” was less of a moral tale, and more about chaos. Even the radio interview was its own version of just adding to the chaos. The fact that his daughter disappears into her room and wants nothing to do with “never” is both spot on and hilarious. The hot asian woman in the car with Louie’s teen-aged agent. The crash to kick off the “play date” was probably the most expensive 30 seconds of the show to date, but it sooo set the tone for the next ten minutes of “what is this kid going to do?”

My favorite start-to finish episode this year, though the 3 minutes of asking Parker Posey out in the bookstore still sit atop my “favorite moment” list for the season…

By: The Bandsaw Vigilante

08.03.2012 @ 5:20 PM

According to Louis C.K.’s AV Club interview, Robin Williams was the (then-unnamed) guest-star this season who mailed his check back to Louis after he realized how few people were actually working on putting the show together.

What a mensch.

By: boxjohnson

08.03.2012 @ 5:49 PM

The irony of having a child named “Never” that you don’t say no to… brilliant.

By: Erika Herzog

08.03.2012 @ 5:53 PM

hi all,

i’m a big Louis CK fan but i agree with other comments here that this season has been markedly different than the prior two seasons. i’m getting what Louis CK is going for but the darkness of these episodes is starting to wear me down a bit. i felt like i laughed more before. and stuff seemed looser and easier in prior seasons. this is starting to feel overworked (or something)….

i thought the Robin Williams stuff was interesting but distracting — mostly because i had to keep reminding myself that this older bearded guy was Robin Williams (not looking like himself to me at all).

the little kid was awful. just awful.

was Louie sitting watching earlier Louis CK on the couch supposed to mean something? i’m just really confused by some of the overarching meanings of these fragmented scenes.

i’m still a fan and still will continue to watch — and support Louis CK in whatever creative endeavor he’s involved in. because he’s smart and not a bastard and is incredibly talented and funny. so wanted to say that too.

By: kunta

08.03.2012 @ 7:07 PM

I wish you weren’t so lazy Sepinwall

By: KobraCola

08.04.2012 @ 8:46 AM

I hope this is a joke and I’m going to bank on the fact that it is one.

By: odysseuscm

08.03.2012 @ 7:26 PM

For me the first epsiode of season 3 which was as great and unpredictable as the former seasons. (Although I loved Parker Posey.)

By: Adam Lauver

08.03.2012 @ 7:34 PM

I thought the episode was brilliant. I’m pretty baffled by the fans who say they aren’t feeling the season–especially when their reason is that the show is getting “too dark,” when that’s been a defining characteristic of Louie from the beginning. Props to C.K. for maintaining his boldness and creativity enough to keep making people furrow their eyebrows. I for one think the show keeps getting better and better.

Robin Williams’ presence in the episode was a thing of beauty. The grace and brilliance with which Louie accommodates its guest stars–man oh man. I’m pretty sure the character introduces himself as “Robin” when he sits down in the diner, but what I love is that it’s still ambiguous the extent to which he really is playing himself. They’re clearly not trying to hide that it’s him, but you’d expect Louie to want to say something about how much respect he has for him, etc. But C.K. plays it in a way that it almost seems possible that he’s in awe of Robin Williams being there and is just playing it totally cool so as not to turn into a cliche. What’s interesting is that when he introduces himself as Louie, it’s Robin’s character who says “I know.” And of course at the end they make a deal that whoever lives longest will attend the other’s funeral–as if there aren’t going to be plenty of people at Robin Williams’ funeral.

All of that just brings me back to how awesomely I think the show handles celebrity/identity. The ambiguity, the subtlety, the half-nudges and non-winks to the viewer–it all just makes it so much more interesting to watch. I love it. It even makes me wonder if the typo in the credits (“Robin Willaims”) wasn’t intentional–just another way for the show to be askew in its own odd and brilliant little way. Who knows?

By: Dr. Dunkenstein

08.04.2012 @ 10:00 PM

Actually, in a way, Williams is kind of a perfect choice because he does have something of a complicated reputation among comedians(listen to his episode of WTF) and it’s entirely possible that Louis CK wouldn’t be effusive with praise and that their interaction would be as awkward as we saw.

By: liddy

08.08.2012 @ 3:55 PM

Really excellent observations and insights, curbyourentropy. The enigma element is a source of great appreciation for me too.

By: SlackerInc

12.07.2013 @ 1:28 PM

I have been really loving this season as well, but I find it curious when people say they have not liked this season and lumo this episode in with the others. If anything, I understand better the people who say they finally liked an episode this season, because this one was indisputably different from the earlier episodes if you ask me. For me though it was a complete mess whereas the other ones were darker, as you say, and more serious; but that’s what I like in this show. (My previous favorite was “Bully”.)

By: Tim Isola

08.03.2012 @ 7:38 PM

Once i saw Artie Lange’s name in the credits after it was over i hadda rewatch the episode just to see where the hell he was, i didnt even notice him the first time he ran out of the truck, just thought it was some fat guy. This have gotten that bad for Artie huh, who i think is hysterical and very talented, that Louie hadda just throw him a bone like this. I’d love to see Artie featured in an ep with Louie, i’d imagine thatd be great, then again i have no idea what Artie has been up to the last 5 years or so.

By: Tim Isola

08.03.2012 @ 7:39 PM

correction: *Things have gotten that bad….

By: Jim

08.03.2012 @ 9:15 PM

He and Nick Diapolo have am internet sports/comedy talk show that DirecTv is supposed to start showing in August, though there has been no promotion on DTV yet. That Man Caves show did a cross promotional episode where they designed the loft/studio.

By: Tim Isola

08.04.2012 @ 10:06 AM

has he kicked his heroin addiction or is he still fuckin around with that? Not judging him btw, i know how hard it is to get hat monkey off your back

By: Bridget Fitzgerald

08.03.2012 @ 7:44 PM

Parker Posey is so funny. Understandable why she’s “the queen of the indies”…. Her new movie THE LOVE GUIDE is hilarious too. She’s a vegan, yogi, reality tv host. Here’s the trailer if you’re interested [www.youtube.com]

By: berkowit28

08.04.2012 @ 5:21 AM

Hello? Are you a displaced person?

By: Scott Rosenberg

08.03.2012 @ 8:03 PM

I think “Barney” was quintessential Louie in a hit-or-miss season, slightly eking out “Miami” as the top episode of the season to date. The understated use of Robin Williams was great, and the odd and uncomfortable twists, even where expected, were pitch-perfect in Louie’s convoluted reactions.

“Never” was more middling to me. While Louie’s response to the situation cracked me up at points, it was really just a running list of grossly exaggerated examples of hipster parenting and bratty kids. The gags were too isolated, and got stuck in between the range where it was plausible, and the range where it was so metaphoric that one could suspend their disbelief and just roll with it, and the blending was not as successful as it was, for example, when Louie has an awkward conversation with his girlfriend, then construction workers destroy his car in the pilot. The funniest part of the vignette was Louie making the half-hearted joke about St. Louis being a cesspool and getting hung up on (the cadence of the DJ team itself was too easy a joke to be that funny), but we never saw any response, and given the nature of the series, it will likely never be addressed again, despite being perfect fodder for the show.

Lastly, how the bleep do you misspell Robin Williams?!?!

By: Lee

08.03.2012 @ 8:52 PM

It was actually Kansas City, not St. Louis, but I get your drift.

By: Erika Herzog

08.04.2012 @ 3:22 AM

what did Kansas City ever do to Louis CK? he’s mentioned his hatred of Kansas City a few times. :-)

By: SlackerInc

12.07.2013 @ 1:35 PM

Kansas City is actually a pretty hip town–and I speak as someone who formerly lived and worked in NYC, and have spent a lot of time in other cities like Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland (plus others abroad). I am going there in a few weeks to see Neutral Milk Hotel and look forward to seeing the city again. It is very beautiful with its bridges and fountains, and has a great art museum as well as historic jazz clubs, indie bands, “foodie” havens, etc. I was saddened that Louis dissed the city so badly.

By: saul its-all-goodman

08.03.2012 @ 11:16 PM

Why is Leon moonlighting as a gravedigger? did Larry kick him out?

By: albatross

08.03.2012 @ 11:38 PM

And how did he get back from France?

By: Jim

08.04.2012 @ 7:47 AM

Curb may not be back until late 2013 or 2014 since Larry is doing an HBO movie announced this week.

By: saul its-all-goodman

08.03.2012 @ 11:20 PM

Why is Leon moonlighting as a gravedigger? did Larry kick him out?

By: Trevor

08.04.2012 @ 1:30 AM

Does anyone else think the sequence with Never was supposed to be a dream, or rather, a nightmare? Think about it: it starts off with Louie just getting to have a day alone with his daughter, his ultimate perfect day. He then has a terrible kid dropped on him by a lady going to have her vagina removed (pretty sure doctors don’t do that electively), who doesn’t tell her kid no, and says he can’t eat “carbon”, which comes from china. Never then proceeds to escalate into doing more and more terrible things. Meanwhile, Louie gets a call from his agent (who is apparently a child), gets on a radio show where the hosts speak nothing but gibberish, and then says the one thing to ensure that no one would come to his show at all. Then the kid craps in the tub. This seems like it has all the makings of a Louie nightmare to me…

By: Mikky J

08.04.2012 @ 2:06 AM

Those are not dream sequences, per se, but the show is often dream-like. The episodes involve surreal scenes. It’s hyperbolic. Louis C.K. takes a typical situation/encounter/emotion and blows it up.

By: Erika Herzog

08.04.2012 @ 3:24 AM

thanks for mentioning this. i was thinking that when the show opened so differently (like a black & white movie and/or dream sequence) but forgot after getting distracted by the content of this episode.

that would make him sitting on the sofa looking at images of himself performing standup as a younger comic make a lot more sense.

meta-layers, indeed.

the kid agent is a running gag. that was the most real life thing in the episode to me. oy.

By: Chrissie

08.06.2012 @ 1:37 PM

The “Retro Comedy Showcase” scene was a preview for next week’s ep, not part of this one.

By: SlackerInc

12.07.2013 @ 1:39 PM

It was definitely surreal. But I don’t find that Louis does Surrealism terribly well, nor do I want him to. I hope he takes it back (or *took* it back) to the more naturalistic style he had been cultivating. I generally hate being spoiled, but if he subsequently took the show consistently in this direction, someone should warn me so I can stop watching, and treasure my still mostly unsullied memories of the dramatic, realistic version of the show.

By: KobraCola

08.04.2012 @ 8:54 AM

Just a phenomenally hilarious episode of Louie. I agree with people who have said this was the most laugh-out-loud funny episode of this season. This one and Miami have to be my favorites of the 3rd season so far. I love the idea of going to the funeral of a dead guy that you HATED and being 1 or only 2 people to show up, never mind a ceremony or anything of the sort. The obligation of “Well this guy was a shitbag in real life, but I guess I should go to his funeral because what if NOBODY goes? How shitty would that be?” And then you have to gauge this other guy to see if he agrees with you about your opinion about the deceased because if the other guy loved the deceased and you go “Oh man, Barney was the worst, right?” then you look like the biggest asshole on the face of the planet trying to rip on somebody who’s already died. The strip club scene was also hilarious, the idea that he was only loved at a strip club where I have no doubt he spent a shitton of money. And then Louie and Robin Williams assuring each other that at LEAST 1 of them would be at the other’s funeral depending on who died first. Pitch perfect. The Never part of the episode was also hilarious, even if it wasn’t especially innovative or original (god knows we’ve seen enough annoying-little-kid plots in TV shows and movies already). Never just seems like the worst kid ever, and I loved how straightforward Louie was with him about why Lilly won’t hang out with him. “No shit, kid, you’re a freak.” I hope Alan does get around to reviewing this episode. One thing, and this might be my terrible memory, who the hell is Doug? Have we seen him before? Is he Louie’s (seemingly very young) manager/agent? Reminds me of Liz’s talent agent on 30 Rock, Simon Behrens (played by Josh Fadem).

By: Scott Rosenberg

08.04.2012 @ 12:45 PM

Yes, Doug the Agent is a recurring character. I know he was in “Tickets” (the Dane Cook vignette), and there might have been another appearance on top of that

By: Gridlock

08.04.2012 @ 5:14 PM

Loved it. Beautiful b&w stuff from the RED cameras, the right typeface for the opening credits, a throwaway high-budget action scene and so much left unsaid. And NYC as the major uncredited guest star once again, not hard to see Woody Allen in this.

By: SlackerInc

12.07.2013 @ 1:40 PM

Unfortunately, it’s the early, annoyingly zany and bizarre Woody rather than the later, serious version that I much prefer in both Louis CK and Woody Allen.

By: rcade

08.04.2012 @ 5:26 PM

The premise expressed in the comments that Robin Williams was playing Robin Williams is far-fetched. One or more of the strippers would have recognized him.

By: Gridlock

08.05.2012 @ 3:14 PM

The constant uncertainty is becoming a valuable part of this show, for me. It’s Robin. He’s rich. He’s a comedian. He wants Louis at his funeral, just in case. The inconsistency is part of the fun.

Louie + Never = Hilarious! Love that he would trust the word of a kid- one that pushed a baby stroller into traffic mind you- who says his mom lets him eat raw meat. Ah, Louie…

By: Chris P

08.06.2012 @ 3:12 PM

I think there are probably two type of Louie Fans. Those who loved the Parker Posey arc and disliked this episode and those who didn’t like the Parker Posey stuff and loved this episode. Count me a member of the latter. This episode was a return to form for me. My favorite part was when Louie didn’t try to sugar coat it to the kid and told him people don’t like him. Great moment.

By: SlackerInc

12.07.2013 @ 1:44 PM

I think this is an insightful comment. I am the opposite type of fan as you, but I suspect your group is more numerous which means that if this were a democracy you would be ill served. I just have to count myself lucky, I guess, that Louie has done so many episodes for my taste.

By: Sine Yo Pinny On The Runny Kine

08.06.2012 @ 3:14 PM

Nobody’s mentioned the Pootie Tang homage that was the radio call-in dialogue?

Anybody else find it weird that both Liz’s agent on 30 Rock and Louie’s (in this ep) are adolescents? It’s hilarious, but weird that both shows do the same joke.